Interviewer (I): Alright. Can you please tell us what your name and occupations are?

Camilla (C): Okay. My name is Camilla Isabella Cantu. Well, full name…my first full name is Camilla Isabella Cantu. And I’m currently working part-time at Living Arts as an on-site cover and music educator, but I also do music production, DJing, and I’m a kind of artist, singer, songwriter.

(I): Alright, and um, how long have you lived in Southwest Detroit and, what do you like about living here?

(C): Okay. I’ve lived in Southwest my whole life. It’s been, um, 24 years we’re talking about. The only time I ever had to step away was to go to college at U-M Ann Arbor. I think, the thing I like the most is kind of like the cultural melting pot of Southwest. I think it’s a unique experience. And I know it’s a unique experience because, when I was on tour last year, it was very difficult for me to find food. Not even just food, but food I wanted. And it was kind of a reality check of like, “wow! Not everywhere is Southwest. Like I can’t just wake up one day and be like “I want this very specific cultural food, and then I can go and get it.

I think that’s probably my selling point for Southwest. It’s just like, “we have everything. We have every type of people, and every type of culture. And if it’s not immediately and Southwest, it’s no more than a fifteen-minute drive. And I think that’s…that’s my favorite thing.

(I): Can you please describe what your connection is to Elton’s work?

(C): Yeah, so, my connection. I think I, first met Elton…Okay, so, long story, actually. Me and Elton were part of the same year of the Knight Art Foundation recipients. We were the 2017…We were both receiving our Knight Arts in 2017 for our work. I remember that he had approached me and said that he wanted to paint my band in the mural.

At the time I had just started a woman mariachi group with my brother, who was helping me and another guy who was helping me, but it was, um, three women, which was kind of unheard of in Michigan. Usually when you see mariachi groups, they just have like one, one woman and um, like, maybe she sings or plays violin, or something. So we were kind of the first of our kind. And I think he was really inspired by that. And he asked me to paint the group. And I was like, of course, that’s really really great.

I think what resonates with me with Elton’s work is the word, “legacy,” right? Elton, when he does murals, and he does paintings, not only is he leaving a legacy of himself, you know? He’s kind of leaving these fingerprint marks of him and his work. But I think, the thing that I really appreciate about him, and his work is that he is giving legacy to Southwest community members. You know? Like…I was seventeen when he painted me on the building and, the way that I feel like I will always be remembered. You know? Like, at seventeen years old, I knew, like, this mural is going to live here a long time. It’s not going to, you know…Ideally, it’s not going to be painted over, or the building will be in use sixty, seventy years from now.

But, I think, (Elton has talked about it before), but he really tries to paint, you know, everyday people into his work. He really tries to do his research about who is in the community doing work and, if they should be…you know, honored. I think, when you’re intentionally pulling faces out from the community, from people that do important work, you’re making them feel like their work has way more value than, uh, can be explained, you know? You’re making…Elton makes people feel like they have legacy here, you know? And that the work that they did or that they are doing here is going to be remembered. You know?

We are…everyday people. And…somewhere in that, we’re able to drive down the street and see, like, this moment in time that he captured. I think that has really resonated with me as an artist.

And then, going around and continuing to see his murals pop up, here and there…I remember when he was working on the one on Junction with the apple. I was like, “wow, this is an amazing piece of work.” And, I just imagined, you know, when he’s not painting a specific face or person, he’s painting in a way that lets you see yourself in that mural, you know? I wonder how many parents or how many people in our community drove past that mural, almost like “wow, I feel seen.” This was a part of my story; this was a part of my parents’ story. This was a part of my grandparents’ story. Um, this is the immigrant story. And now it’s being displayed here for everybody to enjoy and, I think in that way he is letting everyday people also get a legacy.

(I): That was…beautifully said. And one of the other things you have in common with Elton besides being a Knight Arts Foundation recipient is that you’re an artist yourself who is also very dedicated to supporting and creating art by and for the Latino community here in Southwest. Why is supporting and creating art by and for Latinos important to you?

(C): I think it’s important for me today because we were never really given the option, you know? My experience, personally, I grew up a musician, a mariachi musician, and that was, you know, valid. In the community’s eyes, and in the eyes of my parents, and in the eyes of Southwest. It was glorified, even, you know? Like, “you’re mariachi! Amazing.

But I think that there’s, sometimes this disconnect with our community with following authenticity, and fulfilling societal or community standards. So like my, my artistry received a lot of praise, a lot of recognition, until I decided to go my own way and find my own lane with music production and DJing, you know? Then, it kind of became like radio silence. “Oh yeah, like Camilla, she does cool things,” you know? But nothing will ever compare to how the community, how people react when they’re seeing mariachi.

So I think like, for me, I just want to make space for young people specifically to pursue what they want without restrictions, you know? Like, I’m not…I’m teaching music production this year, and a big focus of mine is individual exploration of sound, you know? It’s always been my biggest push with my students.

So, I think supporting young artists here in the community is not just about the funding, it’s not just about the grants, or, or, even the resources. But I really think it starts with the household, and the idea of support within your immediate circle, you know? What are your friends saying about your artistry. What do your parents think?

I think we need to learn how to accept our young artists as they are and not the young artists that we want them to be, you know? Like, maybe a parent here wants their kid to take ballet, but that kid is super expressive about wanting to take Detroit Jit. And it’s just like…it’s our role as, I think, older people, you know? Not even as parents, but as older people to express the validity…the validity of that child wanting to go this way, and…I think that’s really what I stand on, is just “go the way you want, and we’ll support you there,” not, “go the way I want, and then we’ll support you.”

I think for me…it’s more about like, homage, and paying respects in my artistry than it is, you know, I created this specifically for the Latino community. Me, personally, I want to create art that transcends, you know, identity. Again, I can only be authentic to myself, and in my music and artistry, I pay a lot of homage, like my song “so far gone,” it has a lot of falsetto. It has acoustic guitar. It has a lot of mariachi elements, but I would say that it’s something that I want. But I think what’s different in my artistry is that I try to do it through role modeling, you know?

I still will always go back to mariachi and will always love my roots. But I think that there’s also a validity in what I was just saying in…me just deciding to be authentic to myself and to role model to other younger Latino artist so they now that it’s okay to step out of the box a little bit. “Um, look at me, I started in very traditional mariachi music and now I’m branching out into different genres like house, soul, and alternative music.”

And, just because, you know, my artistry may look different, it doesn’t mean that I’m not still doing the work for the Latino community. You know, I’m doing the work in my own way, you know? I’m doing the work by showing up to spaces as a Latina woman. And that…that kind of speaks for itself. Not everything I do is going to be specifically for this community, but I think that this community can benefit from everything that I do, if that makes sense.

(I): Yeah. Thank you so much, Camilla!